A new national anti-racism campaign, backed by major media outlets including Channels 7, 9 and 10, ARN and News Corp, is under fire for its choice of high-profile ambassadors.
The #StandUpToHate campaign, featuring personalities like Kyle Sandilands and Eddie McGuire, is being billed as an “unprecedented show of solidarity” against racial hatred.
But some critics say that this anti-hate campaign misses the mark.
On Friday morning’s episode of The Briefing, we chat to journalist and founder of Back Cover Media, Mibengé Nsenduluka about the campaign, the controversy, and whether it can lead to real change.
“I think that the campaign will resonate with people that haven’t actually directly been impacted by hate,”Nsenduluka said.
“For those of us in marginalised communities, it feels different. It feels very performative,” she said.
When asked if Nsenduluka would feature someone like McGuire in a campaign against Islamophobia, she responded: “Absolutely not. If this campaign really wants to make an impact, it needs to centre people with lived experience, not just feature them.”
She also criticised the inclusion of figures such as Peter Stefanovic, referencing an incident in which he questioned an Indigenous teenager about a past crime.
“It’s just, quite frankly, unacceptable,” she added.
Nsenduluka said campaigns like this can only work if they are “backed by real action”.
“I mean, using certain celebrities just because they have a following, is insincere and just a bad move all around.”
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